On today's broadcast Mahorn said, that Hayes for whatever reason was rushing his shots during this shooting slump, and over the last 3 games he hasn't been.

So it would be reasonable to assume that someone, maybe even Hayes himself by watching tapes, noticed that he was rushing his shots and communicated it to him. As a result he stopped rushing his shots and his shooting improved.

The question that remains though is:

What happened that caused him to start rushing his shots 3 or 4 weeks ago?

A few thoughts: Brezec really, really, really, really, reeaaaalllllyyyy wants to stay a Piston. And I appreciate the hustle and the desire to please, but that was just too much. I understand trying to make a good impression on your new team, but man, that stuff was just :attention

Amir - he's playing better, and with a little more confidence and aggressiveness. Joe D stated in a recent interview that they're trying to get him more PT - I'm hopeful that happens sometime within the next three years we have him for.

Stuckey - he's gotten a lot better. The kid's a quick study, and this was only his fourth of fifth game back from a significant injury. That kid is gonna be good. Afflalo too. Those two have very good chemistry.

I remember he did that during his annual dunk last year. I think he gets up there and doesn't know how to get back down. Great quote from CB talking about an ongoing contest with Affalo over who will dunk the most during games...

“I had to do that, because a lot of the rookies probably didn’t have TVs yet the last time I dunked. We still have no evidence that Afflalo can even do it.”

I thought so too since it was obvious he was doing it for show, but have not seen that call made at all this season...refs must have been told to relax...?

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Maybe the refs thought that CB could not dunk or have not see CB dunk ala AA yet, that's why they were so impressed til they forgot to give him a T for that.

Great 'TEAM' game. RIP 9-10 FG with 22 pts in less than 28 minutes. CB with 13 pts as well as 12 asst in less than 25 minutes. Dice with another double double. Tay gettin more shots in limited minutes and made almost 50% of his shots and Sheed being Sheed. I guarantee that if CB can average double doubles, we will be in the ECF at least.

IMO, Hermann is a better 3 pt shooter than Hayes. Hermann's shooting mechanism, release or whatever you wanna call it is looks better than Hayes. May like him to be in our roster for the season. Need him if we need 3s.

Did anyone notice that when AA came in, Redd was suddenly not that hot anymore? Seems like AA has 'DETROIT PISTON BASKETBALL' blood in his veins. This guy is a keeper.

Wishing everyone a HAPPY & HEALTHY NEW YEAR 2008. May all your wishes come true this year & God Blessed.

HAMILTON: “That dunk was so old school. He was telling all the young guys he can dunk. They should’ve given him a technical for hanging on the rim that long. He told me, ‘I’ve got to let all the cameras get all their snap shots in and let them know I can still get up there.’ ”

BILLUPS: “(Pistons rookies Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo) didn’t have NBA TV when they were in college, so I had to show them I could get up there and swing on that rim a little bit.”

IMO, Hermann is a better 3 pt shooter than Hayes. Hermann's shooting mechanism, release or whatever you wanna call it is looks better than Hayes. May like him to be in our roster for the season. Need him if we need 3s.

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The numbers support your claim, JZ. Here are their career 3-point stats:

Herrmann is 62-for-142 (43.7%)
Hayes is 192-for-550 (34.9%)

By the way:
Herrmann is 28 years old and playing in his second NBA season.
Hayes is 26 years old and playing in his fifth NBA season.

Did anyone notice that when AA came in, Redd was suddenly not that hot anymore? Seems like AA has 'DETROIT PISTON BASKETBALL' blood in his veins. This guy is a keeper.

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AA is making Rip look like a slouch on defense (even though Rip is not bad). The only problem i see with this is will Flip put Afflalo in close games when we need his defense if it requires taking Rip out?? I'm thrilled with the bench PT, but we have yet to see major minutes for anyone besides Stuckey in a close game and Afflalo in the BOS game. I just hope that's not an anamoly, and Flip doesn't go back to clinging to the starters.

AA is making Rip look like a slouch on defense (even though Rip is not bad). The only problem i see with this is will Flip put Afflalo in close games when we need his defense if it requires taking Rip out?? I'm thrilled with the bench PT, but we have yet to see major minutes for anyone besides Stuckey in a close game and Afflalo in the BOS game. I just hope that's not an anamoly, and Flip doesn't go back to clinging to the starters.

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Afflalo's defense is good, but let's not get carried away. When the game is on the line, you want the best players in the game. That is, you would want Hamilton over Afflalo.

Afflalo's defense is good, but let's not get carried away. When the game is on the line, you want the best players in the game. That is, you would want Hamilton over Afflalo.

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Nope, it depends on the situation. If someone is killing us, and only Afflalo can contain him, Afflalo may be the best player for that situation. You can't just shoehorn a player into a game, regardless of his talents in one area. And you can't ignore the excellent qualities that a player may have when they are needed. Daly did a great job choosing between when he used Rodman, pure defense, vs. Aguirre, great offense, at small forward.

The numbers support your claim, JZ. Here are their career 3-point stats:

Herrmann is 62-for-142 (43.7%)
Hayes is 192-for-550 (34.9%)

By the way:
Herrmann is 28 years old and playing in his second NBA season.
Hayes is 26 years old and playing in his fifth NBA season.

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If memory serves, Herrmann, when he started for Charlotte the last part of last season, he shot about 60% on his threes. I don't think there is any doubt that Herrmann is the better offensive player, based on this, and based on some film I have been reviewing on him so far this season. But hey, defense is a big part of the job. Here, I don't like what I see from either player all that much, but I think Hayes is quicker, and a little better on D, and he may still improve further as those knee surgeries get further and further into his past.

The above though is not an endorsement of Hayes, as I think Amir, who is far quicker, or Mejia, a very solid defender, are both better options to back up Tay.